Smokers with ADHD less likely to kick the butt

Published: Saturday, November 22, 2008, 12:03 [IST]

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Washington, Nov 22 : Smokers with Attention Deficient Hypersensitivity disorder, who exhibit elevated hyperactivity and impulsivity, find it difficult to quit smoking than those without the ADHD symptoms, according to a new study.

The study led by Columbia University suggests that ability to quit smoking may depend on ADHD symptoms.

During the study, 583 adult smokers, 43 of whom were identified with clinically significant A.D.H.D. symptom subtypes were treated with the medication buproprion (brand name Zyban), the nicotine patch and regular cessation counselling.

The researchers found that smokers of both A.D.H.D. subtypes showed lower abstinence rates, compared to smokers without A.D.H.D.,

Further analysis showed that by the end of the treatment, the proportion of abstainers among A.D.H.D. smokers with inattention was nearly identical to those without A.D.H.D. (55 percent compared to 54 percent, respectively).

The A.D.H.D. subgroup with hyperactivity, with or without inattention, exhibited lower quit rates throughout the 8-week period compared to smokers without A.D.H.D.,

"Greater understanding of the divergent associations that exist between the different kinds of A.D.H.D. have important public health consequences for smoking cessation and decreased tobacco-related mortality in this population," said the study's lead author Lirio Covey, Ph.D., professor of clinical psychology (in psychiatry) at Columbia University Medical Center and the New York State Psychiatric Institute.

"The effect of A.D.H.D. by itself on smoking cessation has rarely been examined; the effects of the individual A.D.H.D. symptoms on smoking cessation, even less so.

"To our knowledge, the effects of inattention or hyperactivity at baseline as separate domains of A.D.H.D. on cessation treatment outcome have never been examined," Covey added.